After the continued success of the Windows Insider program, Microsoft is looking to expand its functionality to include hardware design. The Redmond giant is currently sending out emails to select Windows Insiders around the world, soliciting their collaboration on the hardware front. Dubbed "Create Together", the program will let Insiders suggest color choices and design ideas that will "empower" them to do more:

Let's do the amazing. Let's create something empowering. It's time to 'Create Together'.

Imagine being a part of the making of a device of your choices, your colours, your design, your wishes.

A device created with your vision, built by a Microsoft partner a device that will empower you to do more and tell your story, your way.

A device made from thoughtful choices of a select few like you.

So, let's begin this journey.

Gabe Aul commented that he would be interested in the idea earlier this month, and it looks like the email that's going out to Insiders is the first step in that direction. We'll share additional details as we receive them.

What design ideas would you guys suggest if you were included in the program? Share your thoughts in the comments.

We all know that this is a cloaked rehash of what you did with Nokia and Windows Phone 7. During the inital anouncement, you make it sound as Nokia would put the best of their design team and you would put the best of your operating system.

After HTC released almost identical copies of the Lumia phones, most of us, saw the light and realized that Nokia and HTC were acting as mere fronts for your whole ODM relation managemente operations. All design decisions appear to be coming from Redmond. Only Samsung was having any liberty and suddenly updates on their phones started failing.

With Windows Phone 8, things got worse. Almost all Lumias looked alike and the spec fell behind even compared to Nokia phones released 3 years earlier. Then we saw Surface RT appear and we realized that the same people who design it, were also behind every WP8 phone released. The OEM were just ODMs sticking their nameplace on Microsoft design stuff.

Since this was deemed for failure, both Lumia and Surface RT imploded. Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 exploded after just meager market share. Although you decided to scrub the first, the second ligered along until it was time to release WP 8.1. It took ages for that to appear. Then you announced the "acquisition" of Nokia, which was basically the abosrbtion of the sales team from Nokia. They got a big fat check, laidoff most of the remaining team and released a Nokia tablet after 1 year. You basically shut down the whole operation and sticked the Microsoft nameplate on Lumia phones. Windows 10 Mobile was delayed several times, until you basically "wrote-off" a billion of the supposed acquisition.

Today you want a crowdsourced Nokia-like design team, which can give limited feedback on your already taken decisions. You're naming them Windows Insiders, but you know they won't impact the overall strategy that will limit Lumia to enterprises, hobbists and IoT betas.

6 Devices per year I can guess from 2016 Lumia 5**, 6**, 7**, 8**, 9** and their some XL variants and the Surface Phone, maybe the naming could change but per price range and specifications this would be entire Microsoft First Party Windows 10 Mobile Devices.

Microsoft needs to bring new design for Lumia Smartphones with component restructuring for no overheating and put front stereo speakers, Metallic Frames in all Lumias, with Best in Class Latest High clocked Snapdragon Processors( Look at all the old and lower clocked processors in Low and Mid Range Smartphones) and bring camera innovations in Low and Mid-range Lumias too, not only in high end Lumias having Latest Snapdragon processors and best cameras.

I also got the register invitation.
It was kind a surprise for me as right now i only have a windows laptop and 520 just got bricked.
I never got any response to feedbacks i provided, nor did i get the thumbs up from other insiders.
Didn't got what is the criteria for being a "select few".

One more thing i find suspicious is the quality of the webpage i got registerd, it was looking damn cheap, high contrasting fonts and page, really didn't like it.

Their must be some other stages to the qualification to be "select few".

But a more "outlandish", though not unique, option would be to make a flexible phone that doubled as a large watch / wristlet. Just wrap it around you wrist and you are good to go, could even use Glance to actually show time (no idea how to work around different wrist sizes). A bit like Nokia's Morph-concept.

People can name specs all day, but those are obvious things. I'll give it some more thought, but here's one list:

1-When you buy it, you should be able to customize the phone with different battery capacities, shells with varying materials/colors/textures, the amount of built-in RAM, the quality of the camera. People love to make a phone their own.

2-Ability to have it ship with an SD card (choose the size) and SIM card already installed. The box I got from AT&T had a SIM card, but no instructions on what to do with it, which is a problem for some people.

3-Start a new open standard for phone camera lense attachments, so you can attach a nice lens with optical zoom. Maybe the phone comes with one.

4-Have an optional Xbox branded accessory, where you put in your phone, and you then have a handheld game device that has a controller and buttons. This has been done before, but I have confidence you can make it shine. What if you did the same thing you did with the Surface Book... you pop it in, and the accessory itself has a high-powered GPU, which allows you to get awesome graphics. If you don't want to do that, how about just a new Xbox controller that lets you put in your Surface phone to get a whole other display you can use. If you can partner with Nintendo, and get exlusive licenses for their old/new games, then your phone will be like gold (can you just buy Nintendo? haha).

5-Have an option when you buy in the Microsoft store so the more MSFT services you buy or own, the cheaper you can get the phone.

6-Do what Google is doing with their phone... my coworker has some Google phone that can switch between two of the carriers automatically (Sprint/T-Mobile?), and he pays Google...never has to deal with a carrier, which is a major plus to me.

7-Make the iris scanning work from further away, be more accurate, and be faster, or replace it with a fingerprint reader. It's cool to show people...when it works.

8-Do whatever it takes to get these key missing apps into your store that some people complain about. I'm talking even paying these companies to fully fund the development. You have cash...maybe just buy out a few of them.

9-You HAVE to have a payment solution. I don't know what Samsung did to pull of their phone working with any device that lets you slide a card, but it looks damn cool.

10-Include a good selection of premium apps/games FREE when you buy a new phone.

11-Move the speaker to the front of the phone, and make it sound better.

12-We need an "app standard", so any app can run on any phone. You're moving that way with the latest .net framework being able to run on other platforms (and is open source). It would be nice if devs can truly write an app once, and it work on all mobile platforms. Platform lock-in is good for individual companies, but horrible for consumers and the future of computing.

Seriously would have been 100% happy if only the 950XL included a pen with support in OneNote. Though ideally, I'd also want a larger camera sensor. Not that the 950XL seems to be a slouch in that department, but still.

A rectangular design,bezel less, 20mp camera with rich software. Features, a version of surface pen which is suitably fit for the phone dimensions. Metal frame with a very,solid build quality, navigation buttons should be like 1520. A QHD display.And I think this project,though good, is a reaction against the Lumia 950 family which is not earthshattering in terms of design

The funny thing is that everybody here comes with hardware specs that should beat the iPhone and Samsung flagship by a ridiculous margin... not thinking that they are picturing a piece of hardware that would cost the same as a Surface Pro 4. "Intel Xeon proccessor with 99 hexabytes of RAM, 8TB of SSD with a slot for memory card... oh, and a cammera of 578 megapixels made by Nikkon that surpasses any professional cammera. Body made of tungsten and seethrough screen so that it looks like an Avengers screen. All packed in a body no thicker than 3mm and able to fold so that you don't break it like the iphone har har"

I would like to see a decent midrange phone with a cool looking body. Quality build with a metal frame. Something that while not an unbeatable monster in the hardware specs, everyone could say "Hey, nice specs and is not that expensive!" and a look that everyone could say "You know, it REALLY looks cool! even if is not a <brand>" or even "That looks awesome, I will get one once my carrier allows me to change phone!"

Look is not everything, but is the entry point. Hardware is not everything but it makes you decide if you should invest, and price is not everything, but in the end is what makes you say Yes or No.

I lost faith in Microsoft because they keep asking stuff and when we answer back they hardly do anything about it, nd anyways why should we waste our time to help them out without getting anything in return. So this is why I'm shifting to Android next month RIP Microsoft so slow in this fast paced world , look at one plus smartphones such a small company yet they are famous.

Microsoft will realise some day that asking people for ideas is not very good thing after all. Very few ideas that come out of the public pool is actually usable. Rest is just combination of all the things a person has ever liked/seen on many devices.

This sounds like an invitation for Surface Phone. In which case, here is what I'd like to see:

1) A proper successor to the 1520.

2) That means 6.0 to 6.4 in Pixelsense screen with minimal side bezels. I hope MS uses the same tech found in the Surface Book and Pro 4. Now realistically, considering how slow MS is to screen tech that allows bezel reduction, a max of 2-3 mm on the sides and 1 cm top and bottom (or less). I can't imagine the requisite Iris scanning camera is at a point where it is compact enough to fit behind any bezel smaller. Sapphire glass for the screen and camera lens would also be a bonus but not a necessity.

3) It is imperative that, like the 1520, the top and bottom bezel ratios are symmetrical. Symmetry looks more premium.

4) Body construction MUST be VaporMag. The 950 and 950XL are nice and serviceable flagships as they are but, with the next flagship phone, MS must trump the iPhone in every way imaginable. It has to be a genuine iPhone killer. The current 950 series already has a magnesium chassis. It is VITAL that material appears on the outside -the surface, so to speak - as most people are that shallow and the simple fact is metal screams premium. Magnesium more so than any aeronautical grade Aluminum. Polycarbonate, by any other name, screams cheap plastic no matter how high their quality is and I really think MS shot themselves in the foot by insisting on using this material for SO long.

Not only will such a phone make iPhone buyers reconsider but it is important Android manufacturers have a new standard to copy and imitate in design than the iPhone. I believe MS has the capability to be that standard.

5) As far as the actual industrial design of the phone, we could start with the Continuum dock. Does anyone else find it crazy the dock is better looking and appears better made than the 950 itself? It wouldn't have taken MS much effort to produce backplates mimicking the dock for the 950s. Or they could just go full metal and create the phone equivalent of the Pro 4.

6) That leads us to the next criteria. No bright and shiny colors. They are no longer unique and they look cheap. On top of that MS's implementation of colors has been pretty monochromatic which gets old, tacky and cheap quickly. Please let us rid ourselves of this "brilliant" Ballmer idea. Like alot of things he did, it was so bad.

If WP users really insist on having colors I'd suggest deeper, darker colors like the ones used in the Surface keyboard cover. Those look tasteful and stylish and, most importantly, won't grow old very quickly with changes in fads.

Another material I'd really like to see in Windows Phones is wood. Not wood with heavy complicated grain patterns like Burled Walnut but light and simple woods like Teak and Bamboo. I'd also like to see Zembrano and Wenge options. If they go wood, I hope MS doesn't make the mistake of making the phones appear plasticky by overzealous application of gloss varnish. Keep it matte. Let us enjoy texture.

7) Keep the metal Windows logo on the back. I'd also like to see it slightly larger and centered. Any WP fan would like their phone to shout that it is an MS product. More importantly, I believe the MS name actually has cache.

People here talk about how people lost interest in WP after Nokia left but I think this assessment is incorrect. Nokia was the cellphone standard back in the late 90s and early 00s but by the mid 00s and post iPhone, Nokia lost the plot and began earning a reputation for cheap looking and feeling substandard plastic phones. Nokia became a byword for cheap and that is the general feeling around the world. I can attest to this as someone who lives in a third world country: the Philippines. A lot of people here came to the conclusion "why buy a cheap shoddy Nokia when you can get a better built Samsung for little more?" I was appalled when MS partnered with Nokia and kept me from switching from Android to MS for so long. Glad I did though.

But I digress, everyone knows of the MS/Apple rivalry and the fact MS is even spoken of in the same breathe as Apple gives the name some weight ( At least out here in SE Asia). The Surface Pros were a dream come true because it was MS finally realizing and capitalizing on the prestige their name carries. I feel in the US, that feeling is becoming true as well.

8) Custom Intel X86 processor. I think it's time to ditch ARM for the high end. It beggars belief that in spite of the long history of partnership between Intel and MS that they haven't actually tapped each other's resources to create a world beating phone that can outstrip and outclass Apple's A series chips. Seriously. Such a processor would also make Continuum a serious feature rather than a novelty. At the very least, Intel should make a dedicated coprocessor for Continuum or for Windows Hello. Either that or MS should create a miniature version of the coprocessor for they built for the Surface Book and put it in a phone.

9) That leads us to cooling. MS should retain the water cooling system they employ in the 950XL but improve upon it. They could also complement it by employing the same perimeter venting seen on the Surface tablets. I honestly think the perimeter vents have the potential to be a signature design element that Android makers might copy it.

10) Front facing speakers. The shame of WP partnering with Dolby Surround is that they use it to the fullest by placing the speaker on the back where it is easily obscured. Put it on the front. HTC's Boomsound is the benchmark MS needs to exceed.

11) 4GB of RAM. I don't need to explain why.

12) Minimum storage of 64gb or 128gb + MicroSDXC expandability of up to 2TB. Make the iPhone buyers regret ever having to put up with Apple's 16GB bullshit. Even if Apple moves up to 32GB in the next iPhone, their customers would still be feeling cheated. That's a good thing.

13) Return of the 41 MP camera. At this point, MS needs to go all the way. A 20 MP camera might be fine for the 950/XL but a true flagship phone needs a true flagship camera and no camera has ever matched the cache of that ludicrous Pureview. As usual, give it Zeiss lens but upgrade the OIS so it is laser assisted. A cool differentiator would be for Pureview to get a Hasselblad certified Medium Format feature. That'll give the pretentious artsy types currently on iPhones something to think about the next time they get a phone. MS should lock Hasselblad in an exclusive contract that would exclude any partnership with Apple.

To power it all, MS needs a battery much larger than what they are using now. Even my 1520's 3400mah battery with only a 1080p screen to power feels average. Now I am acutely aware that I was spoiled by the 1320's phenomenal battery life which was only powering a 720p screen. Nevertheless, that sort of stamina should be the goalpost for MS. I see that happening with a 4000-6000mah battery. I may be wrong though since my calculations with a 1440p screen is far from scientific.

They should release two phones as they and the other leaders currently do. I'd suggest one 5.0 inch and one 5.7 inch.

They should all have a design like the Nokia 930, with metal accents around the edges. The bezel should be minimum that they are comfortable with for strength.

phone system/software in its own software space/VM/sandboxed, so that it cannot crash, lose signal, refuse the make or receive calls or disconnect from carrier like some current phones sometimes do. Making and receiving calls is the primary objective of any phone.

quad core processor with better power gating features like intel processors to turn off various things that are not in use, down clock and reduce voltage as needed

Being one of the rare few who actually LOVE the look of the 950XL (and the 950 nearly as much), I don't know that I'd want to change a whole lot in terms of raw aesthetics.

I'm torn on whether I'd want to move up to more premium materials at the expense of the removable battery/SD card/SIM in back or whether to keep those features and keep some kind of plastic.

I know you can put sd and SIM card slots along the side, but then you have card slots along the side breaking up the design symmetry. I also know that Motorola proves that you can have a closed back phone, and still have tons of customization options, with premium materials to boot, you can still only deaign it once, where with a removable back and numerous customization options, you can "redesign" the phone on a whim. Also, if you drop a glass phone....uh oh. Even a metal phone or wood backed or leather backed phone can be ugly damaged, and there's usually no in-damaging it. If a plastic back gets too messed up, replace it. Done.

Now, options for the backs of the current flagships is one are where MS has DECIDEDLY fallen down. Beyond salt and pepper you have NO 1st party options whatsoever! This is a must fix. At a bare minimum we need to have first party back options in a number o attractive colors, but why not go for the more premium looking custom options? Oh well, there's always 3rd party backs I guess, but MS needs to let them include the silver Windows Logo to complete the look.

Now, in a day where MS seriously needs to do everything it can to make people take Windows Phone as seriously as they can, if the removable plastic back model is impeding that, then maybe we need to ditch it despite my almost preference for it and the reasons for that I listed above. Otherwise, I'm not sure just how quick I am to want to change. And, for what little it's worth, though I know this will be highly controversial, though I know the Galaxy Note 5 is a much better phone than the Galaxy Note 3, and does feel better in the hand, I actually like the look of the older one better. I know the plastic faux stitched leather back nor the ridged faux chrome sides are fooling nobody, I still think they looked better than the shimmering icon that lacks all other feature, and is all too reminiscent of the monolith from 2001 - A Space Odyssey - and I loved that brushed aluminum look underneath the glass on the front. I also think the iPhone 6/6s series, tough I'm using one to type this is one of the most boring looking phones out there...There, I said it! :-)

However, far more important to me than the looks of the phone are the "works" of the phone. I REALLY want an Intel powered device beefy enough to enable the continuum feature to become a TRUE, 100% complete Windows 10 desktop experience! That would be KILLER! In fact, that would be so killer that since I'm in the market for a low/mid-range phone for not a fortune, I'd buy such a thing and use it as that computer, whether Verizon would let me also use it as a phone or not. With a docked connection at my main desk, and a wireless connection for the rest of the house and another dongle for while I'm traveling or while on the north side visiting my parents. Anywhere there's wifi, I'd have my computer.

Like I said, that'd be worth it to me, phone or no phone!!

Lastly, I'd suggest "Continuum kiosks" in highly visible places. Not only is it a huge convenience for Windkws users, it's possible a jealousy generator for non-Windows users.

Anyway, these are the kinds of hints I'd recommend if I receive that invite. If I don't, hen may someone who did take hem and run with them as well! :-)

The biggest possible screen that could fit in my pocket. Probably something closer to the 7" range. An intel chip for access to the legacy programs that I know will never be ported. Other than that everything that we already have going for us is good for me. Now its time to move onto a full blown smartwatch or at the very least expand on the existing band :)

1. Intel with x84 software support using continuum
2. Memory Options, 2Gb, 4Gb
3. Storage Options, 32Gb, 64Gb and 128Gb
4. Camera Options, 20MP, 41MP
5. 8MP Front Camera with Flash
6. Iris Scanner
7. 3D Touch
8. Replaceable Battery
9. SD Card Support
10. Screen Options, 5" and 6"
11. Magnesium Body
12. SnapChat (Just to shut everyone else up)
13. Extra large battery support, I.e. Replace the back cover with an extended one and be able to fit 5000+ battery inside, makes the phone thicker and adds weight but for people like me that's really not a problem, but it needs to be first party so the design, quality and support is top grade.

Microsoft is already on the right track as far as smart phones are concerned if they really build the "Surface" smartphone using Intel's new Atom smartphone CPU's and a special version of full Windows 10 Desktop operating system that can access control and use a smartphones transciever. the Surface smart phone would then be a true Windows 10 device totally compatable and able to use most Windows 32 desktop software, MS Universal Apps and Windows 10 store Apps. Also Microsoft has to be strick and from now only allow Windows Universal Apps to be submitted the Windows 10 apps store because properly made they can run on all Windows 10 Desktop, Laptop, Ultrabook, Tablets and Windows 10 Smart phones. At first some developers would get angry and resist making MS Universal Apps but would change their mind and do it because Window 10 is on 120 Million computers and more people are putting it on their computers everyday and 85 to 90 percent of all NEW PC desk, laptop, and Ultrabook computers are running Windows 10 and have a store for Developers to sell their apps in

I really liked the idea someone mentioned almost a year and a half ago. Make a big windows symbol on the rear of the device....and make it light up via led etc. Also if there was a capacitive windows symbol on the front that could light up as a notification light that would be great. ie. Blinks for new texts etc

Except the intel phone, all the others should have removable back. And all the phones should support WiFi, Bluetooth, NFC, MicroSD card, dual sim. (1) and (2) only will not have 4G whereas all others support 4G. Camera phone should have all Lumia colours available and for others, official back cover should be available with various colours. A split volume rocker instead of single bigger rocker will be good. For aesthetics, all devices should have USM port at the bottom, Able to pop out memory card/SIM without removing the battery, headphone jack at the top centered, Front facing speaker, LED notifications at top left, front camera at the usual place. Glass to be used should be latest gorilla glass.

I think they want to make a phone for the Indian market solely. And this is why insiders from India are only getting the emails. So I would want a phone to have similar internals like the One Plus X or the One Plus One for a price of not more than ₹20,000 while the phone should look like the Lumia 920 or 925 or 1520. 5" screen is not off putting to the majority whereas larger and smaller than that may be ... Include glance and pureview. We don't want continum or liquid cooling or anything fancy. Even almost no one here uses NFC for payments so that is also not necessary and neither is wireless charging or iris scanner or fingerprint scanner.
But a 1080p clear black display, solid processor like a Snapdragon 801, 2 GB RAM, external storage option, DUAL SIM variant (almost 50% or maybe more people in India buying a new phone look for dual sim capability), 13 or more megapixel camera with zeiss optics or the 8.7 MP one from the 920 with ois and pureview. Don't forget the hardware camera key ...
And yes ... The most important thing : Price. It should be UNDER ₹20,000
U have a space empty from 20-30k for an 830 successor.

Just two devices, high and mid end only. Should go some way way in resolving OS issues in the long term. Just resolve the app gap issue once and for all, and speed dials that actually dial the number and not bring you to another sub menu.

Don't forget that Microsoft's new strategy is to make only low and high end phones in addition to business targeted phones. Mid range phones aren't part of that plan directly (but the business phones could be somewhere between a low and high end phone).

A powerful Intel processor and 6-7" fullhd screen, 3gb ram, 64gb internal, msd, 20+mp camera on the back, 8+mp camera on the front, HUGE battery, qi, ir for remote control features, possibility to connect an Xbox One controller (wired/wireless) and a dedicated camera button. That's pretty much what I want to see on a phone to be really satisfied.

Microsoft already have developed very powerful and innovative technologies. But they are reserving for their surface phone brand. Lumia 950/XL are still designed and engineered in the Nokia's lab. Next iteration of their flagship phone will be designed in the Microsoft engineering tables then it would bro the most innovative and definitely with some advanced features. E.g. Surface pro series, surface book, hololens. The company who has hololens like technology then we can definitely expect some serious hardware technology when they will develop the phone which has been crafted by its surface team. Lumia 950/XL was scheduled to launch when Nokia was in the power, so changes couldn't be made to these existing devices Atul they have made some changes in this device, I really appreciate this effort. I'm ready to accept that this is not we can proudly call a flagship for the manufacturers of the surface book or surface pro 4. We definitely expect more from this company.

I would like an Xbox phone. Green back. should have a swipe left for a game hub. Double right swipe for xbox app always running. Hold horizontal and it splits with game pad under screen. Left edge of phone should have shoulder buttons. Continuum box should have a groove in it so phone can be held by it fir big screen display or just a holder, when a usb xbox pad is used.

The back is reprogrammable/unlockable to increase virtual resolution so that people who don't want a very high resolution shooter don't pay for it, while those that do get a SLR+ quality shooter. I am talking about a grid in the billions of sensels.

Similarly integrate sensels inside of the screen the same way MS did with the original Surface IR "pixels", but in groups behind microlenses, thereby allowing you to A) look at someone with your eyes when you are looking at the screen, and B) pefectly follow the user's eyes to determine the exact location of their gaze. The second part is important in both displaying things through the screen as if it were AR, as well as being able to record whatever a person is actually looking at, not necessarily exactly on the axis perpendicular to the back of the phone (assuming the phone is roughly pointed in the right direction).

This on top of the normal benefits of using a plenoptic system, but without the expensive Plenoptic 2.0 camera lenses that are common in these sorts of setups. The sticking point is finding printable sensel tech that is both high enough quality (although quantity has a quality all of it's own, and recent error correction techniques could take care of a lot of lower quality sensels, so long as there are a LOT of them).

There are serious issues with things like switching speed, perishability, and quality control. Don't know if it's doable anymore now than it was a few years ago when I was looking into it.

Nope. You need a x86 archihecture CPU and a entire OS overhaul for that to work, a lot of power (x86 CISC need a lot og power, that why arm arhihecture was invented) and a at least 20GB of storage. Why fo you think Windows 10 Mobile needs 3GB and Windows 10 20GB? Windows on PC has all those user controls, resources files... for win32 applications. Windows 10 Mobile has above mentioned files for Silverlight, Universal Apps.... That's why it only needs 3GB of space for system files. If you really want a ultra portable PC for win32 apps, get a PC on a USB stick and a wireless keyboard and mouse. Problem solved.

I got the mail too. I signed up and i got a dialog box that said wait for the next step or something.

I would really like htc to make a windows version of a9. Hardware wise I think ms wont release any phone with older gen Socs anymore. So all that remains is other features and physical appeareance of the devices. When it comes to design no one can satisfy the tastes of all. But what ms or its hardware partners can do is to make the phone with less bezels and offer a wide range of sizes for the same model like the xperia line.Moreover they should implement hey cortana voice activation in all the phones be it flagships or low ends. I think this can be achieved by adding a secondary co processor. Sure it wont be cheap but they can cut the costs in other regions like material used in low ends. This wont be a problem in the high end beacause they can charge like 40 - 50 dollars more. Moreover the main focus should be in the design and accessories of the phone. The new flagships look a bit ugly with the stock back cover, but with the mozo back covers they look damn sexy. What ms needs to do is to offer the same choices. They can either produce them or acquire a company like they did with n-trig. Other hardware features that are not a must are IR blaster and fingerprint scanners. Sure we have the fancy new iris scanning. But think of how it would be if windows had two stage authentication. The buissiness people will love it. And when it comes to IR blasters one doesnt need them a lot but I use it a lot on my mi 4.IF they went ahed and added water and dust resistance thet will be great too but its not a must.

Software wise all that needs to be done is a few minor changes and bug fixes which im sure the geeks at ms are doing right now. Other than that it would be perfect if ms talked to major oems like samsung, xiaomi, huawei, oneplus and get them on the win 10 mobile custom rom thingy for some of their phones. They can add a small tweak to their customised os that will allow the users to install win 10 via ota or they could atleast provide a flashing service in their service centres. This is highly unlikely but who knows what might happen.

These are my personal views and if you disagree there is no need to flame in the comments section. And yeah grammar nazis can keep away.

Honestly, I think I want Microsoft to include IR blasters in their phones. They clearly seem to include some sort of infrared technology for the Windows Hello stuff. Why not include an IR blaster so I can control my TV.

Current gen Pureview version of the 1020s 42mp shooter. Gorilla Glass 3 5.5" front end, high res, Intel Atom powered, 4GB Ram, vapor mg case, with a Surface logo on the back... Basically shrink a Surface 3 to phone size and go from there. It'd certainly get a lot of press and that'd be a nice change for a WP.

Want a phone to complete with the latest One plus devices both in terms of specs (or performance) and PRICE !!! And bare with me on this, the design of the Lumias (950 and 950XL) dosen't make them look like they are from Microsoft or even Nokia. In my opinion the best loking phones are the Lumia 920, 925 and 1520. I might even go crazy to have a phone that looks like the Surface tablets shrunk down. On the software department though, Microsoft knows what they are doing, its just the matter of developers putting efforts in the development of their apps. Waiting for the mail btw ...

a lumia 1320 shell design with 950XL specs and removable battery. Preferably IP68 or higher water and dustproof design. Both amoled and eink screen (amoled for normal use and eink for battery saving mode). And a screen layer for using n-trig or wacom tecnology with the stylus.

The important reason for the 1320 shell design is that its a relatively universal bar design. This will make it easier for third party accessories. I'm still waiting for a decent camera case, like the one designed for the lumia 1020, preferably one where we can also mount lenses on the case in front of the the camera phone lens for a good fit. A mophie juicepack case for microsoft phones, rugged cases for the microsoft phones etc.

I hope this way a whole new supporting market opens to make more accessory products that are actually tailored for that phone instead of cheap universal accessory that don't work as well. I've used and tried so many universal accessories for windows phone, they're "meh" at best.

I think the windows phones/lumia phones are all great. But I think the wow factor for me would be when the phones would finally have more compatible accessories that accent the phones potential. Cases, third party products like gopro, medical equipment and other sensors that can utilize and connect over usb c etc.

well then microsoft should do more with accessories.I mean with 3D printing low market share markets shouldn't be an issue. But it would be nice if microsoft offered the 3D accessory files. I would be happy to pay 30 dollars per accessory if microsoft would only develop them to fit the phone. But since they have the spec bluerprtins and dimensions it would be easier if microsoft offerend a greater portfolio of accessorys, basic and more advanced, from microsoft owners to choose from After all microsoft released a 3D builder app for windows 10. I would be happy to tweak a basic file a little, save it and send it to shapeways. And then perhaps within the windows/microsoft community a whole bunch of us could order that accessory, perhaps with a group discount. Should be too hard to organize.

Since everyone is replying as if this is the place MS will go to source their next phone.... A high end phone with a smartcover that doubles as a physical keyboard. It opens and can flip behind the screen or lock into place for a landscape style physical keyboard. Of course, this is optional and detachable. It would allow fans of "real keys" to have it and yet, it's not a required accessory to work as you still have the touch screen. I think I just created the jump-off point for the beginnings of a Surface Lumia.

That's because hardware specwise nothing much is needed and we can't post the pictures here.
I'm pretty sure designers and enthusiasts will send there concepts/designs to Microsoft. I think that's what they are asking for not plane specs.

Top 3 hardware features :
1-Ram should be more than 1 GB .
2-FLASH light should be available in all lumia budget phones .
3- The most important feature is to provide STEREO speakers in Lumia phones foe music lovers!!.

I'm in the UK too, and not sure what Bapon is asking for. I originally assumed he means stopping the phone going up to 4G (Which I wouldn't personally bother doing) which I think the setting I mentioned would achieve - Maybe he's looking for a minimum speed aswell, and would rather have no connection at all if 3G isn't available (for some reason)?

Part of me likes this, but the other part just wants Microsoft to hire a chief design officer and move on. You dont get Metro by committee. Listen to feedback, but create something truly original and stand behind it.

Bring user profiles to phones boom mind blown. Let's your kids or wife use a device as if it were there own. Also put kids corners on tablets and pcs. Oh my battery is dead grab another phone login and my mobile experience is not tied to one device.

He's also excluding lads like me that prefer a phone they can use with one hand. The Lumia 930 I can barely use with one hand (going back to my Lumia 920 and finding it a lot easier to use with one hand), and that's only 5". Now imagine a 5.5/6"phone. I'm snookered now aren't I?

Oh I completely understand you. I moved from a Z3 Compact to a G4 and while I love the G4 I loath the size of it. I'm only putting up with it because of the awesome camera.
On the other hand whenever I pick up my 930, it's a relief now because it seems smaller. But yeah, I'd be going back to a Compact phone if Sony were serious about their cameras or anyone else produced proper one-hand friendly phones.

So how do you propose we get a removable battery (something that is very important to me in a flagship phone because you can bet I'm going to use the heck outta the device) since you're doing away with removable backs. The removable battery and continuum are the two reasons I'm going gaga for the Lumia 950.

Removable battery means you have to take apart a device and reboot it, losing everything you were doing while needing more energy. Also it's dangerous to keep batteries with exposed contacts in pockets or without a case. Way more practical and elegant t just plug an external battery when needed

I'm going to disagree about it being way more practical and elegant to just plug in an external battery. For a start, it means cables strewn every which way (trust me, I do this with my 920). It also means your phone is tethered to another power source. Pop off the back, swap battery, put the back on again, and continue. No power source tethering needed. I will however give you the danger aspect, though I never had an issue with my Titan over it. But I guess the same danger could also apply to the external battery. The elegance and practicality are subjective.

1 - I'd call Nokia to design the phone and supervise its construction (hey, they said "built by a Microsoft partner").

2 - I'd call Nokia to put in their camera tech on the phone.

3 - Said camera would include all the bells and whistles but no hump, even if that means a fatter device. I don't care.

4 - The phone would run full Windows 10 and not Windows 10 Mobile or anything that has any resemblance to Windows Phone (which means running PC programs since it's the only way to compensate the lack of apps. Otherwise it would have to run Android with backed in Microsoft services alongside Google's.)

5 - The phone would support wireless charging, be waterproof and be made out of metal and glass (much like Xperias and the new S6 and OnePlusX). Alternatively, it would be built with graphene, assuming Nokia is ready to move on pass research to the production of graphene-based devices.

6 - The phone would have a side mounted fingerprint scanner instead of iris scanners.

7 - The phone would be able to seamlessly connect to a dock and turn into a Surface tablet (think Asus PadFone but with a Surface) or connect to another dock and turn into a portable PC. THIS would be the real materialization of Continuum.

8 - The phone would have 32-64GB of built in storage and support microSD expansion.

9 - The phone would have a xenon flash and a dedicated camera button, of course.

10 - The phone would be bellow the 5" mark in size. 4.7". Alternatively it could come with two sizes but *mine* would not go beyond 4.7" because phones are meant to be used with just one hand.

11 - The phone would use a 1080p AMOLED display and nothing above that. Not only because it's useless but because battery life comes first.

12 - The phone would have the biggest battery possible within its size constraints. Ideally Nokia would be able to add a graphene battery, assuming that too is ready to move past R&D.

13 - The phone would NOT have rear facing speakers.

14 - The phone would include a LED notification light.

15 - The phone would include a small projector on the top of it that would allow to either create holographic projections (a la Star Wars) or to project the screen of the floor onto a surface (thus actually removing the need for an external monitor on continuum).

16 - The phone would include an IR blaster

17 - The phone would not be cheap. But it would justify its price tag, unlike some other phones out there *coughiphonecough*

There, Microsoft. I just did all the work for you. Now make it happen and maybe you can get a third chance in the mobile space.

It seems a natural step, doesn't it? Projectors are getting smaller and smaller. So eventually they'll be able to fit them into a mobile device. That'd allow you to actually take a larger screen with you, as long as you had some surface in which to project it to.

It makes a lot more sense to me to invest in that than to expect someone or some place to have a random display, keyboard and mouse waiting for someone to arrive with a phone to connect to it.

Samsung did it a couple years back, it was quite thick. Still, if you could have the full W10 experience with a projector and Continuum, it could be quite useful. Maybe the projector could be integrated into a 3rd party foldable keyboard instead of the phone (then that keyboard-projector could be used with any Continuum-supported device, not just full W10).